Common variations in four genes related to brain inflammation or cells' response to damage from oxidation may contribute to the problems with memory, learning and other cognitive functions seen in children treated for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), according to research presented at the annual American Society of Hematology annual meeting in San Francisco.

A study led by Dana-Farber investigators found that a phase 1 trial of an immune checkpoint blocker found clinical benefit in nearly half of blood cancer patients who had relapsed following allogeneic stem cell transplantation.

Dana-Farber and colleagues report that an oral targeted drug has shown encouraging activity and tolerable side effects in patients with treatment-resistant or relapsed acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) in a phase 2 clinical trial.

In a major advance in the care of patients with leukemia and other blood disorders, physicians at Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women's Cancer Center have begun using Rapid Heme Panel, a high-tech genetic test that provides, within a matter of days, an unprecedented amount of critical information to aid the choice of treatment.

A team of researchers led by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute investigators has uncovered a connection between people with Down syndrome and having a heightened risk of developing acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) during childhood.

A normal enzyme called SYK pairs with FLT3, the most commonly mutated enzyme found in acute myelogenous leukemia, to promote progression of the cancer and its resistance to treatment with FLT3-blocking drugs, which may explain relatively poor results in clinical studies. In a mouse model, treatment with a combination of drugs to inhibit the two enzymes was more effective than treatment with either drug alone.

Children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), the most common form of pediatric cancer, can safely receive intravenous infusions of a reformulated mainstay of chemotherapy that has been delivered via painful intramuscular injection for more than 40 years, research suggests.

Dana-Farber/Boston Children's researchers reported promising outcomes data for the first group of boys with X-linked severe combined immunodeficiency syndrome (SCID-X1), a fatal genetic immunodeficiency also known as "bubble boy" disease, who were treated in an international clinical study of a new form of gene therapy.

Dana-Farber scientists report in the Journal of Clinical Investigation they have developed a tumor vaccine based on the patient’s tumor to create a strong and selective immune response in some chronic lymphocytic leukemia patients.